The present invention relates to an operating handle control device for controlling the operation of a handle of a slot machine.
Slot machines are generally provided with an operating handle control device for controlling the operation of a handle with its associated elements to start the reels of the slot machine. Such a device has a mechanism for restricting the operation of the operating handle in such a way as to prevent the operating handle, once operated, from restarting the machine upon its return to its initial position and/or to prevent the operating handle from being reoperated until the operating handle returns to the initial position.
For effecting this restriction of the operating handle, various actuating devices having restricting mechanisms are known in the art. One such operating handle control device, disclosed in, for example, Japanese utility model unexanined publication No. 59-22,188 and Japanese utility model publication No. 61-21,089, is provided with a restricting mechanism comprising a ratchet wheel provided integrally with, or cooperating with, the operating handle, and a ratchet engageable with the ratchet wheel.
Due to the provision of the ratchet and ratchet wheel, this operating handle control device not only has an increased number of parts but also is complicated in construction. Furthermore, the restricted mechanisms are liable to malfunction when the ratchet and ratchet wheel are engaged with and disengaged from each other, resulting in an improper operation.
Moreover, because the ratchet frequently engages with and disengages from the ratchet wheel, the ratchet and ratchet wheel are liable to wear and develop play.